IB Boost Blog

Hiring is a two-sided affair - the candidate must be a fit for the organisation, but the organisation should also be a fit for the candidate. Job adverts and recruiters can only tell you so much. Read all those generic "one-size-fits-all" blogs and articles telling you what you need to do to get hired with caution. There is no magic formula. Every company is unique.

So why would you want to work for IB Boost, and what do we look for in our people? This blog is the first in a two part series. In part 1 we're going to tell you a bit more about us. In part 2, which we'll be posting next week, we'll tell you about the kind of people we look to hire.

IB Boost is an IT software development and consultancy house based in London, with an additional office and remote staff in New Zealand. We specialise in automation and testing, system integration, and customised development for international corporates, with a goal of providing harmonious, innovative solutions to common challenges.

A few things you should know if you plan to apply for a role

• We are remote-first. We were already completely mobile before the COVID pandemic, and since then we have moved further to be completely remote-first in our way of working. This doesn't mean we will never need to travel and we still work primarily UK and NZ business hours, but there is flexibility there. However if you need the work-life firebreak that a daily commute gives I'm afraid we're not for you at this time.
• It's all about GSD: Getting Stuff Done. It's all fine and dandy if you have great ideas but ideas are worth nothing without action. You must be happy to jump right into things, love a challenge and thrive under pressure.
• We are client-driven. Clients give us money. This money is what grows our business, pays our salaries and bonuses. They're at the heart of everything we do, and they must be at the heart of everything you do as well. You must be willing to work on client projects in a consultancy-type role, and have the communication skills and business acumen to support this.
• We act like a start-up but deal with clients on their terms. As a consultancy we must adapt our ways of working to suit the needs of our customers, which are usually large companies. You must be able to adapt as well.
• We won't hold your hand. It's up to you to ask questions when you have them, or read up on things to find a solution. You're in charge of your development. Every project is a learning opportunity, and we expect you to take advantage of these opportunities.
• Our clients are global. Since the pandemic we no longer keep a fixed office base in Canary Wharf, but we're still London-oriented and while a lot of our developers are based here, but our customers are international. Sometimes projects will require you to be based on client premises and you would ideally be flexible when it comes to travel.

So what are the benefits of working for IB Boost?

• Lots of opportunities to play with things. We are passionate about new technologies and are always looking for ways to integrate them into our day-to-day work. We expect that you also share this passion.
• Minimal bureaucracy. As mentioned previously we're client-driven so there will always be some need to follow their ways of working, but internally we try to keep things simple. We encourage feedback, and love to see our colleagues step up and take charge.
• The opportunity to shape the future of the business. You can't hide in a small company, and everyone has a part to play in our success. You'll know where the company is going, what new projects are in the pipeline, and you'll be a key driver to our success.
• Cool people. We're eager to share our knowledge, and have a laugh in the process. We like a bit of banter, cheesy YouTube videos, and a good board game. This is the kind of working environment where you may find yourself making an origami dinosaur so you can win an office competition. We know a bit of fun goes a long way.
• Remote and flexible working arrangements. Being remote-first we offer a lot of flexibility in working arrangements (with limits! See below) so while we sadly no longer have a place for our drinks fridge, snacks, prize cupboard and whiskey collection, being remote-first lets our staff work more flexibly for their own unique circumstances.

We're not everything to everyone; here is what we don't offer

• Freedom to always do things your way. We focus on delivering for our clients, and sometimes there are client restraints. The key is in adapting to this.
• The ability to pick and choose your projects. As a small start-up we have finite resources. We match people to projects based on ability and availability, and need people who are flexible and willing to get involved with projects outside of their comfort zone / interests.
• Highly structured, regular feedback. We value a general continuum of dialogue but we admit that sometimes the other pressures of day-to-day IBB life make us forget. If you don't feel like you know how you're doing, just ask.
• The ability to hand off responsibility to someone else. Our flat hierarchy means, regardless of your level of experience, you will be held responsible for things. You can't hide or pass off the blame at IB Boost, and you shouldn't make excuses.
• Infinitely flexible working arrangements. While we are fully remote and work across timezones, we still have commitments to clients primarily in UK business hours, commitments to colleagues (again primarily in the UK) and restrictions on where we can do some of the work we do. For example, for some clients we are obliged not to permit any access to the systems we run for them on our cloud instances whilst not in the UK.
  
  We get a lot of value from having people communicate and while we chat over Mumble, Slack, Teams, Google Chat, etc. it's mostly synchronous. We are very family friendly and provide a great place for people with young families who need flexibility on time, but not so much the veritable "digital nomad" who wants to work from a beach in Thailand for six months.

So there it is - a peek into the IB Boost work environment. We hope this gives you some insight into our company and the way we work and what you should expect from day 1 as an employee. For what we look for in our candidates, look out for Part 2 next week.